AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Happy Birthday, Little Wolf! It’s a big night, are you ready?”
I can’t get out any words around my laughter, so I nod and pat his arm around my waist, hoping he’ll put me down. Instead, he throws me! Just tosses me into the air. I panic, flailing my arms around as I go soaring through space. Charles catches me, laughing as he hugs me to his chest.
“You’re so cute, Little Wolf. Happy Birthday.” He gives me one more gentle squeeze before tossing me just like James did.
This time flying through the air is much scarier than last time because I can’t see where I’m going. I hear a faint growl before I’m caught again. The Wintergreen scent surrounding me clues me into the fact that August has now plucked me out of the air and kept me from falling.
“Little Wolf, I should be offended that you ignored me when you came in from school, but CJ said you needed to talk to Mandy, and it’s your Birthday, so I’ll forgive you this time. Happy Birthday.”
He tosses me back towards James, who is smiling so big, I think his cheeks may split in two. I’m giggling now, no longer afraid that I’ll fall to my death, confident that the Alphas will catch me. Before I make it to James though, someone snatches me out of the air from the side. I collide into a wide chest and the scent of Chocolate and Kiwis surrounds me. I can hear a quiet rumbling growl and somehow, I know that Erik has caught me this time. He slowly walks back to the couch with me in his arms. I expect him to sit me down on my own, but instead, he settles between Hutch and Skylar with me in his lap. CJ is smirking at us from the other side of Skylar who is… Scolding the Alphas as iftheywere children.
“You can’t throw her around like that! She could get hurt.” He holds his hand up to stop them from interjecting as all three of them open their mouths. “I know that you wouldn’t do it on purpose. But she was freaking out and could have hurt herself. Or you could have dropped her. From now on, if you must throw her, make sure she knows it’s going to happenbeforetossing her around like a football.”
Everyone is staring at us like we’ve gone crazy. Abby has her eyes squinted as she looks between the five of us. Charles, James, and August look both chastised and confused and Mandy is beaming like a kid in a candy store. I’m a bit uncomfortable with the attention and try to squirm my way off Erik’s lap. He grunts and holds me closer to his chest to make me stop moving. Staring up at him in confusion, I gasp when I feel the effects my squirming around has on him. It's a rather, um,largeeffect. My whole body freezes and Hutch is covering his mouth with his hand. I can still hear his chuckle, but nobody else seems to know what is happening right now. Me included.
“Come on boys. The Dads didn’t mean any harm. It’s getting late, let's do the cake so you can go meet the team on the beach.”
Mandy stands up off the other side of the couch and walks over to help me off Erik’s lap. Once I’m standing, she grabs my hand and leads me into the kitchen. I’ve noticed more and more how touchy all of the wolves are and I can’t say I dislike it. I always feel better when one of them is touching me. But I’m confused because all day today, I’ve been feeling lonely unless the guys are in the room. Even snuggled up to Mandy, who I feel the most comfortable with, I felt so alone. It was like something is missing, though I can’t figure out what it is. Then, when I was in Erik’s arms, surrounded by his pack, I felt complete and relaxed for the first time today. Even now, I’m starting to feel withdrawn and awkward again without them in the room. I’m surrounded by Abby and the Pack, but I’m not comfortable until Skylar, Hutch, CJ and Erik walk in.
My shoulders relax and a deep breath I wasn’t aware I was holding escapes my lungs. Abby is still looking at me with squinted eyes and I want to cry. I never got the feeling that she didn’t like me, but since she has been here, her actions suggest she doesn’t trust me for some reason. I want to ask her what I did and why she is upset with me, but I don’t want to ruin tonight. She is staying here tonight and if she is still acting strange in the morning, I’ll confront her about it. With Mandy there, and maybe her Alphas. Definitely not alone, that sounds terrifying.
I’m drawn out of my thoughts by Charles placing down a huge cake covered in Light purple frosting. ‘Happy 19th Birthday Little Wolf’ is written in beautiful steady handwriting that I know Charles didn’t do. From the smile on his face, I’m assuming the lettering is James’s work. There are little dolphin figurines jumping out the cake over the words and Gold candles shaped like the number nineteen are lit behind the Dolphins. Everyone in the room is singing "Happy Birthday" and my face is flushed red. One of the boys has an amazing singing voice, but with all the others joining him, I can’t pinpoint who it is. When the song is over, I put my hands on the ends of my hair and lean forward to blow out the candles. Of course, as soon as I blow them out, they light back up again on their own.
“Damn it, Auggie! I saiddon’tdo the trick candles! Erik almost passed out trying to blow those damn things out last year!” Mandy sounds mad, but her eyes are dancing with mischief and the smile won’t leave her lips.
CJ and his pack are all holding their stomachs and August looks offended. Clearly he didn’t put the trick candles on the cake. Something tells me the boys did it. I fully believe it, so when Abby starts giggling, I’m a bit shocked. I did not see that coming. James is already pulling the still lit candles off the cake to run them under water when Mandy turns to Abby, fake shock and betrayal on her face while laughter dances in her gaze.
“You! You did this! How could you?” Mandy puts her hand on her heart and the back of her other wrist on her forehead. She dramatically falls back against August and pretends to faint.
Chapter Sixteen
I'm a WHAT?!
It’salltoomuchand I start laughing with the boys. At this point, Hutch is on the ground, tears rolling down his red face at how hard he is laughing. Skylar is shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him as if begging them to stop. CJ and Erik are both a bit more composed, but Erik is staring at me and CJ has his hands over his eyes as if he is embarrassed by their antics. August looks exasperated and Charles is having a very hard time keeping a straight face. Abby is just as red in the face as Hutch and even Mandy has given up her fake fainting spell to laugh with us. James is cutting into the chocolate cake and serving up plates to everyone, but he is chuckling at each person he stops by.
“I swear, you two ladies are worse than the kids.” August grumbles, but he is smiling so he doesn’t really seem that upset.
We all calm down as we settle around the table to eat. The cake is amazing. Moist and delicate, yet not too sweet. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat another cake again. I’ve been ruined for all others with just a bite of this one. Charles turns a bit red when I compliment the cake with enthusiasm and Mandy and CJ smile proudly at him. Erik is silently shoving his third piece of cake into his mouth as Skylar watches incredulously from beside him.
“Erik, don’t make yourself sick. I promise I’ll save you some for tomorrow.” My words are soft, but he apparently still hears me because he smiles up at me and takes his last bite.
“Don’t worry, Red. I’m about to work it all off. I will take you up on sharing a piece tomorrow though.” He winks and stands up to take his plate to the sink. The other guys stand to follow and each of them stops and kisses Mandy and Abby’s cheeks on the way past. “We have to head to the beach, get some stuff to take care of before the run tonight. Good luck on your shift, Red. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
With a wave, they head out the door. Everyone left turns to look at me and my stomach drops. It's time to shift. I’m not sure I’m ready. Sure, I want to meet my wolf, but I'm so nervous about what will change when I do. Is it going to hurt? What if I can’t shift? What if I do shift, but I can’t shift back? Will I manifest immediately or will it take time for them to confirm I’m a Beta? Will they shift as well? What if they do and our wolves don’t get along? So many questions, yet none of them really matter. I have to do this, there are no other options. And Abby said if I try to fight the shift, then my wolf will force it and it can get dangerous that way.
“Okay, Little Wolf. Are you ready to meet your other half?” Charles is standing by my chair now, one hand on my shoulder.
“I’m scared.”
He bends down, squatting beside me so he can look into my eyes. “It’s okay to be scared. This is big and something completely new. But we will be with you the whole time.”
Nodding, I swallow hard and take a deep breath. I’m going to shift for the first time, and it is going to be okay. I’ll have all of them there with me and they won't let anything happen. This is all going to be fine. I give myself a mental shove and scoot back my chair to stand up. Charles smiles and he takes my hand, leading me out of the glass sliding door that opens to the fenced in backyard. There is a big pool right outside the glass door and a large shed-like building in the back corner of the yard. In the middle of the grassy field is a beautiful fire pit. There are swings attached to a huge hexagon shaped structure and soft outdoor cushion seats closest to the large ring of red bricks that make up the center of the space. Fairy lights twinkle around the top of the open air structure and wrap around each supporting pole. It looks magical in the bright moon light.
As pretty as the yard is, it's hard to focus on anything other than the insistent tugging feeling in my chest. Again, I can feel something moving inside of me and it feels like hundreds of tiny bugs are moving under my skin. My nerves send shocks of electricity down my back that are almost painful. Charles looks back at me and whatever he sees has him speeding up to catch the others I can see walking into the shed. The closer we get to it, the more I realize it isn’t a shed but a barn. The double doors in the front of it are wide open and I can see Mandy, Abby, August, and James stripping down. I know that Charles warned me this would happen, but my face still turns red as I look up at the ceiling to avoid seeing anything I shouldn’t.
“Okay, Little Wolf, here’s what's going to happen. Everyone else is going to shift first so you can watch. I’ll stay human until your wolf is out and you manifest. It shouldn’t take long for your Manifestation to be clear, five minutes tops. Once you and your wolf are settled, I’ll shift as well and we can all go for a little run around the yard. Do you have any questions?”
I shake my head and watch as August, then James shifts. Their wolves are so beautiful. They are both large silver creatures, but August has dark brown paws and James has no other colors on him. I’m almost convinced he’ll shimmer like a dime in the moonlight. Abby goes next. Her wolf isn’t anywhere near the same size as the others. They are nothing but lean muscles and they stand almost as tall as me. Her wolf is a brown and cream spotted color and she only comes up to the other wolves shoulders. She is jumping around and nipping their ears and it’s so cute to see. Mandy is last, and she is tiny compared to the other wolves. Her snow white body only goes to James’s chest she rubs her body against James and August’s sides and nips playfully at Abby, who immediately lays down and rolls on her back. The four of them are softly growling and chuffing at one another, playing and having a good time. Charles chuckles at them, then turns to me again.
